Finding Home
by Spaced Out Space Cadet
Summary: Hermione working for a new branch of the Ministry helps Draco uncover the mystery of his family, come to terms with the past and find a future
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** JK Rowling, Warner Brothers and many other people own the rights and everything else affiliated with Harry Potter, I've only just borrowed the characters and a few places ;) I promise to return them when I'm done. There will be spoilers from all the books but it is AU, and I've taken what I want and disregarded things that didn't fit in, though it is as compliant with the Deathly Hallows as possible. So please enjoy! Also this hasn't been beta'ed so any mistakes are my own.

**Summary:** Hermione working for a new branch of the Ministry helps Draco uncover the mystery of his family, come to terms with the past and find a future.

**Finding Home**

**Chapter One**

Hermione sat at her desk, diligently sorting through the piles of parchment that had managed to land on her desk while she had been at a very brief lunch. Hermione worked at the Ministry for Magic in the Department of Welfare for Non-Magical and Newly Magical People, a new and revolutionary Department that had been established to help make the transition easier for those who had thought that they were ordinary humans to becoming a Witch or Wizard. There were also new support programs that enabled squibs born to Magical families get the support that they did not always receive from their families. Hermione headed the Department that consisted of 10 members, and each day the amount of cases that were brought to their attention was increasing. Looking at her desk Hermione decided that it would be wise to get a cup of coffee because it was going to be a long afternoon... and night.

On the floor that housed Hermione's Department also housed the Auror's and the Potions Departments as well as Magical Catastrophes and other Dilemmas Department. With the broadening outlook of the new Ministry, many unrelated departments were forced to share office space. Located in the centre was a kitchenette and it proved to be a great meeting place between the Departments. It was also the centre for work place gossip and often enough a great way to broaden you outlook in your own work.

"Hello Hermione," Draco said over his shoulder, when he noticed that she had walked in behind him.

"Hello Draco, how is the new potion coming along?" Hermione asked politely, she and Draco had become almost friends, after working in the same section of the Ministry for five years and an uncanny need for coffee at the same time. The beginning had been quite difficult but over the years they had grown accustomed to seeing each other every day and the animosity over time had disappeared. Though their growing friendship at first had been the centre of speculation, it was not welcomed by all, particularly by Ron was not happy that his girlfriend was not only talking to a Malfoy. Not that Hermione had to worry about what Ron thought anymore.

"It's not going the way I'd have hoped but that's just the way it is with Potions, it never works out the way that you think." Draco's brow furrowed as he thought about his potion and what he could do to improve it while he reached into the fridge to get some milk for his coffee. "One ingredient and you can completely change the effect of a potion, and the wrong ingredient can ruin months of work and research." Draco seemed a little frustrated; he had obviously hit a road block with his work.

"I know what you mean, it isn't any easier dealing with such complex family dynamics and every time I get surprised with the attitudes of some people, and not just the muggle families. I am so thankful that my parents were so fantastic about everything." Hermione stood with her back to the counter holding her mug in both hands.

"I can imagine. There are so many pure blooded families that would have hidden their squib offspring rather than suffer their perceived embarrassment at having a squib in the family. I can't imagine that it would be any easier for muggle families to comprehend that there is another world that co-exists with theirs." Draco looked slightly bemused at the words that were coming out of his mouth but that didn't mean that he wanted to take them back.

"You know, there would have been a time where you wouldn't have even been able to acknowledge that to yourself, let alone to another person, especially if that person was me." Hermione said, not with animosity but with genuine wonder at a change that most would have never seen coming.

"Before, those kinds of thoughts would never have crossed my mind except of course for agreeing to shun squibs," Draco agreed.

"People change," Hermione said simply walking towards the door and Draco nodded thoughtfully.

"Before you go I was wondering if you have some spare time after work. There is something that I would like to discuss with you but it's personal and I'd rather not talk about it here." Draco looked uncomfortable about asking and that alone piqued Hermione interest.

"Of course, I'll probably be working late so why don't you come past my office when you've finished up for the day." Hermione never could resist someone asking for help, and she was even more curious being that the person that needed help was Draco.

"Alright, I'll come to your office and then we can go and get something to eat?"

"Sounds like a plan," Hermione said with a smile, and in all honesty a bit of surprise. While they chatted to each other at work they had never socialised outside of work. It had to be something very important if he wanted to take her away from work to discuss it with her.

As Hermione walked out she almost bumped into Ron who was standing next to the doorway talking with their old school friends Seamus and Dean, who were now Auror's, she cringed but before she could turn around and go back into the kitchen Ron saw her and it was obvious for the expression on his face that he had heard Hermione and Draco make plans to meet after work.

"Hello Ron," Hermione said politely, though a little curt as she made to walk past him and back to her office.

"Hermione," Ron said, his lip curled as he saw Draco come out of the kitchenette behind her and confirmed that it was Draco that she had made a date with.

Things had been volatile between Hermione and Ron since they had broken up a month before. While they had been together for almost 5 years, their breakup had not been pretty. Hermione's dedication to her job and Ron's dedication to living a life of luxury had not been easy on their relationship as well as the fact that Ron had no desire to get married and have a family even in the distant future. Hermione had been thinking of ending their relationship when Ron had beaten her to it. Only he had done it a little more publicly than she would have liked. They had been at their weekly lunch at Ron's parent's house when Ron had declared that their relationship was over, in front of all of his family.

"What? You're too good to stop and talk to me now?" Ron asked scornfully, both Dean and Seamus took a step back, looked at him and frowned, "or are you just too busy with other people?" Ron directed an evil look at Draco.

"Of course not Ron, but I'm at work and I am busy working. I'll see you on Sunday at your mothers." Hermione kept her head down and walked quickly past.

"Yeah, that's about right. You walk away; everyone here knows that your work is more important than actually having a life." Ron looked pleased with himself as Hermione went bright red with mortification. At that Hermione stoped and turned to look at him, she could feel her blood pressure rising and even though she knew she was most likely going to regret the words that were going to come out of her mouth she couldn't help herself.

"_Really_ Ron? I can understand how you can't grasp the idea of someone having a job that is rewarding and fulfilling and important, or even the concept of someone having a job at all. A job is something that people generally get when they grow up. But you wouldn't know about that would you? You, content to live off past _glories,"_ Hermione said with as much scorn as Ron had uttered. "And honestly Ron, you broke up with me, so now I don't have to make time to talk to you because you are no longer a priority in my life, just like I'm not in yours. So why don't you run along and give another interview or watch another stupid Quidditch game because I don't have time to stand here and listen while you struggle to find ways so that you can feel better about yourself!"

"Just because I dumped you don't mean that you have to throw yourself at someone like him," Ron pointed at Draco and Hermione saw red. Draco stood back and watched the exchange through narrowed eyes, not saying a word.

"What Ron, you can't handle the idea of me with someone else? What did you expect? Did you think that I would sit at home and pine for you? Get over yourself, you've made it abundantly clear that you have no interest in me anymore and I have accepted that. You have no say in what happens in my life Ronald Weasley; you don't get the luxury of an opinion as far as my life is concerned. You and I both know that we're going to run into each other and I'll be polite when I see you, because my mother raised me with manners. But that is where it ends Ronald, have a nice life," Hermione turned around and stormed off into her office. Ron called after her but Hermione ignored him, she was not going to give him further satisfaction by continuing their argument, and this way she got in the last word.

Ron and Hermione had always had spectacular fights, but Hermione thought that they had passed that, that she was past that. But obviously there was something about Ron that could still inspire her to lose control and not in the good way of their youth.

As her voice had risen people had come out of their cubicles to see what was going on. Hermione couldn't believe that she had lost her cool with Ron especially at work in front of her colleagues. Hermione knew that she would be the brunt of the office gossip for the next few weeks, especially since word would now be out that she and Ron had broken up, something that Hermione had not advertised. She didn't have many close friends at work, Jane who worked within her team was her closest friend and only she knew about the breakup.

After taking a few minuted to compose herself, Hermione worked solidly for the rest of the afternoon ignoring the rest of the office, which wasn't an easy thing to do when people kept making excuses to walk past her office and look at her. Though in traditional Hermione fashion, she managed to block out the world around her and make headway in a lot of cases that had been troubling her. Part of her role was to investigate the disappearance of squibs and first generation witches and wizards, and even with the changing of perceptions in the Wizarding World there was still a lot of work to be done especially with Pure Blood families and ignorant muggle families.

Hermione was surprised when Draco knocked on her door, signalling the end of the work day, she was even more surprised when she saw that it was after 7 pm. There was nothing like burying yourself in work to help forget the embarrassing moments in your life.

"Are you ready to go, or do you need some more time?" Draco asked politely, even though he was frowning.

"Hello Draco. No, I'm done for the day," Hermione stood up and with a wave of her wand sent her parchment into various files that neatly put themselves where they belonged. "First off I'm so sorry about before. It isn't often that I lose my cool but that is no excuse for me dragging you into the middle of my fight with Ron. I understand if you want to do this another time, or not at all," Hermione said, hoping that he wouldn't change his mind not that she would blame him if he did. But her curiosity had been sparked and she wanted to know what Draco had to ask of her.

"Of course not, I still need your help and I don't mind getting involved in arguments that make Weasley look like the fool that he is," Draco smirked and Hermione saw the Draco that she went to school with and she couldn't help the smile that followed the thought.

"Right, so where would you like to eat?" Hermione decided to let the comment slide; she wasn't feeling too generous where Ron was concerned. She grabbed her coat and bag ready to go. It was then she noticed the look on his face. "Are you alright? We can meet up another night if you prefer?" Even though his appearance at her door had reawakened her curiosity, she was willing to wait because there was something about Draco that wasn't right. Maybe he really was upset that Ron had jumped to the wrong conclusions about them, not that Draco spoke up about it when Ron was here.

"No, I'm ready to go," Draco said as his face smoothed out into that blank mask that he used to wear as a teenager, and that bothered Hermione a little. "How about the Leakey Cauldron?" Draco asked as if nothing had been said or changed.

"Sounds good," Hermione said with a slight frown.

They flooed away from the main Ministry network and straight into the Leaky Cauldron which was thrumming with the usual after work hustle and bustle of the diners.

"I think that I see a spare booth just over there," Draco motioned to the other side of the room and took Hermione's arm as he led her to the booth.

They settled themselves in and without talking consulted their menu's and when their waitress came over they ordered their meals. Hermione looked around the room and noticed that Lavender Brown was looking in their direction with great interest.

"Fantastic, after today and Ron announcing that he thinks the two of us are seeing each other having her spot us out at dinner isn't going to slow down the rumour mill," Hermione motioned over to where Lavender was sitting.

"People are going to make assumptions all of the time, I've picked up the Daily Prophet more than once to read stories about myself that were pure fabrication. I'm sure that you've had the same happen."

"Of course, I've long since made the decision that if I want to read something that at least has some basis in truth I read the Quibbler," Draco gave a soft laugh and shook his head.

"If you would like we could go somewhere else?" Draco offered.

"Not at all, besides people would only talk more if we left. Who wants to give people that kind of satisfaction?" Hermione smiled at Draco and made a conscience effort not to look over at where Lavender was sitting.

"So, how is work really going?" Draco asked as he took a sip of his drink.

Hermione was a little surprised that Draco was going for small talk, but she didn't to push him with what he wanted to actually ask her, if being friends with Harry and Ron had taught her anything, it was with the males of the species you had to be patient and let them get to things in their own time. Merlin knew that every time she had tried to get Ron or Harry to admit to or open up about something it had been far more painful that actually waiting for them to get to it in their own time.

"The work itself is fantastic and rewarding but I can't believe how hard it can be sometimes. I've had so many muggle families in absolute denial about magic, which I can understand. It isn't easy for any parent to accept that there is something different about their child. My parents, well it did take them a little while to come around but when they did they embraced everything new that came with me and for that I will be forever grateful. I knew that Pure Blood families often saw squibs as an embarrassment but I've seen families in complete denial and that makes it so much harder for the poor children. I'm working hard to get a program established where squib children can learn how to be a part of the muggle world but it isn't something that is going to happen any time soon unfortunately."

Hermione took a sip of her drink and quickly studied Draco. He was genuinely interested in what she had to say and she guessed that whatever it was that he wanted to discuss had something to do with her work. Though he obviously wasn't ready to talk about that yet and she was willing to wait it out and see where the conversation took them.

"You also do some investigation work as well, don't you?" Draco asked then pulled back as their meals were brought to the table.

When the waitress had gone again Hermione answered him.

"I do a lot of the background work; the actual investigation is handled by the Auror department. I'm the one that sorts through the records and finds the missing people on paper, the Auror's then do the physical finding. It isn't always easy and I worry about all the people that I've missed. But I have been trying to develop a new spell that will make the work easier and far more thorough so we won't miss people, muggle or squib."

Draco listened intently to everything that Hermione had to say about her work and made comments and suggestions about her work and things that would help to make things easier for her. On the whole their meal went smoothly, with the only real pauses in their conversation coming when they took a bite to eat. Hermione was surprised when she noticed that it was getting close to 10 pm and the evening had gone so smoothly and that there had been no awkward pauses, neither could remember having spent a more pleasurable evening in recent times.

"I know that you are curious as to why I asked to meet with you this evening," Draco said as he settled the bill and made their way to the door. Hermione lived quite close to the Leaky Cauldron and Draco was going to walk her home before apparating back to his own home. Hermione had enjoyed the evening much more than she had thought she would and had almost forgotten their real reason for the two of them getting together.

"Why did you want to meet me, you said it was private," Hermione said with her curiosity renewed.

"I need help," Draco paused, he wasn't used to asking anything of anyone and while he and Hermione now got along, that had not always been the case and it was hard to ask for her help. He took a deep breath before he continued, "I need your help locating my sister."

*****************

So there you have it, the first chapter. I hope that you all enjoy. Feed back is always welcomed :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** JK Rowling, Warner Brothers and many other people own the rights and everything else affiliated with Harry Potter, I've only just borrowed the characters and a few places ;) I promise to return them when I'm done. There will be spoilers from all the books but it is AU, and I've taken what I want and disregarded things that didn't fit in, though it is as compliant with the Deathly Hallows as possible. So please enjoy! Also this hasn't been beta'ed so any mistakes are my own.

**Chapter Two**

"You have a sister?" Hermione asked, baffled and then her mind went into Hermione overdrive and she realised, "she's a squib."

"Yes she is, I have only just found out about her and I want to meet her." Draco had a look on his face that Hermione had never seen before and her heart went out to him. It was a look of... longing, as an only child she had always been envious of Ron's large family and it was also one of the reasons that she and Harry had been so close. She couldn't imagine the joy of finding out that you had a sibling out there.

"I have one question before I will agree to help you," Hermione said with a frown as something dawned on her. "Do you want to keep this private because your sister is a squib and you don't want anyone to know that the Malfoy blood line is so tainted?" her cheeks flushed at the thought and Hermione was getting angrier the more the more she thought about it.

"Of course not!" Draco replied adamantly, scowl firmly in place. "I want to keep this private because it is my private business. I need your help because I wouldn't have the faintest clue as to how to go about finding her. I also want to keep it quiet because you know what our world is like, if word of this gets out and someone finds her before I do..." Draco paused a moment, his face pinched and he seemed to force out his next words. "Well the Malfoy family has never been that well liked and I can just imagine the interesting things they would have to tell her. And what if she knows nothing of our world, could you imagine!" Draco's face flushed a dull red as he became angry and Hermione knew that he was genuine, his indignation at her implication was too real.

"Ok, I'll help you," Hermione watched as all the wind seemed to blow out of Draco's sails and he looked relieved. "And I won't tell anyone about what we are doing," she said before he could say it.

"Thank you, I don't want it to interfere with your current work load anyone can see how busy you are. Is there any way we can look into this after hours? I know it is asking a lot of you, doing this in your free time." Draco said, he wasn't comfortable with asking for help, especially from her and his normally cool and calm facade was gone. Hermione found that was part of the reason she agreed so readily and as they neared her flat she observed his manner and felt an empathy she had never thought she would feel for Draco. His normally cool facade was gone and Hermione saw a hint of vulnerability, something that she had not thought was possible that she would ever see. She also saw how uncomfortable he was with her seeing a side of him that she knew not many others would have seen.

"As you heard today, I have more free time these days," Hermione said dryly as she fished her keys from her bag, she wanted to change the mood of the moment to give Draco time to compose himself and return to a more even setting for him. In truth she wasn't sure she was comfortable with seeing this side of Draco, while their relationship had changed to one of casual friendship that didn't mean she was comfortable seeing him when he was vulnerable, it didn't fit into the category that she had Draco neatly placed into in her mind.

"I was wondering when you and Weasley were finally going to break up," Draco said with a smirk and Hermione frowned at him, not really liking his falling back into old habits, yet not comfortable with the new side she was facing. The best way to deal with this was to get to somewhere _she_ felt comfortable.

"Now that isn't a way to get on my good side Draco," Hermione gently scolded and led him into her apartment so that he could apparate home without the neighbours seeing. Though it was going to raise a few eyebrows if her neighbours saw Draco enter and never leave...

"All I am saying is that the two of you have always seemed a little mismatched, especially with your dedication to your work and Weasley's... wait what is it that Weasley actually does?" Draco had really perfected his sneer in their first year; it was nice to know that it hadn't lost any of its effect over the years. Actually if anything, it had only become more derisive.

"Ron doesn't have to work," Hermione said shortly and Draco decided that it would be wise not to push the issue further by asking more questions, it was obviously a sore spot with Hermione.

"Moving on," Draco said as he glanced around her small apartment. "How would you like to go about finding my sister?"

"I'll need to see everything you have that has any information about her. I'm going to assume that your parents gave her up for adoption so anything you have relating to that would be great. Why don't you bring everything to the office tomorrow and we'll go over it all after everyone has left for the day." Hermione hung her coat in the small hall cupboard motioned for Draco to follow her into the kitchen.

"I could bring it into the office, but since tomorrow is Saturday I hadn't planned on going in. Are you working tomorrow?" Draco watched Hermione make them both a coffee.

"Bother, I'd forgotten what day it is. No I'm not going to go into the office for a change. I am planning on getting some things done around here and on Sunday I'm going to dinner at the Weasley's which is going to be great," Hermione couldn't hide the sarcasm.

"Why do you still go to the Weasley's?" Draco asked curiously.

"They are my only family left; both of my parents were older and have now passed away. Mrs Weasley has always looked at me like another daughter and even though Ron and I have broken up that has not changed."

Draco sensed that Hermione didn't want to talk about it anymore and so he decided to change the subject.

"How about after you've finished doing what you need to do around here," Draco looked around and there didn't seem to be anything done to the neat and tidy little apartment. "You come to the Manor and have a look at everything; it will make it much easier than trying to transport it. While there isn't a whole lot of information about my sister I'm sure that with your trained eye you will manage to find things that I have not been able to."

Hermione agreed to go the Manor and Draco gave her the apparating co-ordinates before leaving for the night. After he left Hermione spent a lot of time contemplating what she and Draco had discussed. She was surprised at their pleasant dinner where their conversation had not dried up at all. More surprising was the fact that Draco had not only asked for help, but help from her. She knew that it was her profession to do what he asked, but she was not the only one working in the department that would have been willing to help him, especially most of the female members of her team. Though, she supposed, due to her many years working with Harry and Ron it had almost become second nature to keep things from people, she knew how to keep a secret. While other members of her Department were not so discreet.

***

It was early morning before she fell asleep and as a result, she slept much later than she had planned on. Normally she did all her housework and washing by hand, there was something therapeutic about doing the mundane things the muggle way, but she was in a hurry because she wanted to get to Draco's by early afternoon. So with the help of a little magic, her house was spotless, all of her washing done and neatly hung for the next working week. For reasons that she didn't want to look to closely at, she was oddly excited to be going to Draco's home, the famous or more rightly, infamous Malfoy Manor. She supposed that it would finally put an end to the curiosity, the wonder of how the other half lived. While she had 'visited' the Manor once before not only had it been dark but she had not been concentrating on the decor while Bellatrix Lestrange had been torturing her. She couldn't picture herself walking comfortably back into that room again, and if it looked like Draco might wish to go into the sitting room Hermione would have to say something.

Hermione had been raised by muggle dentists in a house that was so ordinary and completely removed from the world she entered when she was 11. Draco had been raised by one of the oldest Pure Blood families that could most likely trace their line back to that of Merlin and his upbringing couldn't have been any more different from hers. Though perhaps their families would have had some things in common being that they were both wealthy and had been raised in affluent areas that would perhaps be where any similarities ended.

With a quick look around to make sure that everything was in its place and another glance at the grandfather clock in the corner, to make sure it was the time that she and Draco had agreed on the previous evening. Hermione straightened up her white pullover and grabbed her purse, picking off a bit of imaginary lint from her jeans, she apparated with a loud crack.

The Manor was everything that she had imagined it to be, right down to the gargoyles that protected the four corners of the roof and the various turrets. The gargoyles made her smile; she had always been fond of them ever since she had stayed at a very old hotel as a child. The lawns that surrounded the manor were perfectly manicured and the hedges provided both security and privacy, not that she could see another home from where she stood. She could have sworn in the distance that she saw a pure white peacock striding across the lawn. The two large oak doors at the entrance were magnificently carved with a large dragon and Hermione couldn't help but give a slight shake of her head as her smile widened. Trust Draco to live in a home that was protected by his namesake.

Before she had a chance to knock on the door, they opened and Draco stood before her looking a little nervous.

"Hello," Draco said as he stood back and motioned for her to enter.

"Hello," Hermione replied before she stopped and gazed in wonder and the magnificent foyer. Draco looked uncomfortable and Hermione made a conscience effort to close her mouth and get back to why she was there. "Nice house," Hermione commented as Draco led her towards a room to the left.

"It is far too large for one person," Draco said a little curtly and Hermione decided to drop it. They way each of them lived was quite obviously, very different. Hermione could afford to buy a home and live quite comfortably, after her parents had passed away they had left her with a modest inheritance and thanks to wise investments, both in the muggle and magical worlds had only increased her nest egg. She was determined that she was going to wait until she had found the perfect home and so far nothing that she had looked at was satisfactory.

"I would imagine so," Hermione said and wanting to change the subject, "so where is going to be the best place for us to start?" Hermione smiled as she said this, she was eager to get her hands on some parchment and more than a little of excitement was due to the fact that she would be looking in the papers of Lucius Malfoy, something that not even the Auror's at the Ministry had been able to do even with all their Ministry approved searches of the Manor.

"This was my father's study," Draco led Hermione into a room filled with dark wooden furniture and with the heavy drapes and thick dark red carpet the room had an almost sinister feel.

"I can imagine your father feeling quite comfortable in here," Hermione said with a curled lip. Realising what she had said and the way she had said it she wanted to kick herself. Draco had asked her to help him and she had been in his home for all of five minutes and already she was criticising his family. The old feelings she had towards his father drowned out the excitement that she had been feeling only moments earlier. "Sorry Draco I didn't mean any offence."

"None taken, I know exactly who and what my father was. I also know that you and he had more than one run in while he was alive and I understand that you did not like him and he was quite obvious in his disdain of you. I am thankful that you have agreed to help me but this isn't going to work if we're going to be so careful not to offend one another. I thought that we'd gotten past this, that we were becoming friends." Draco looked frustrated.

"I'm sorry Draco, and you're right, we are friends. I think that it is high time that we leave the past where it is and move on. I'll try and not make any snide remarks about your father and our past." Draco nodded once and Hermione felt the tension drain from her.

"You will find all of my father's papers in here, on the desk are the papers with the reference I found that relates to my sister. I'll let you look over them while I go and get us some tea." Draco turned and walked away before Hermione had a chance to answer him.

She shook her head at herself as she made her way to the large mahogany desk that had the most intriguing carvings on the sides; carvings on closer inspection she noticed were of dragons fighting. Hermione settled herself in the large chair and a chill ran up her spine, if Lucius Malfoy could see her now, she supposed he was turning in his grave that very moment.

The parchment in front of her was yellowed with age and appeared to be a Last Will and Testament of Lucius Malfoy. It was long winded and there were many vague references to people and places that had obviously meant something to him. Draco was listed as the sole heir and beneficiary. There was a notation at the very end of the long document which was undoubtedly what had caught Draco's attention. Narcissa Malfoy, if she was still alive at the time of Lucius death was to be provided for by Draco unless Narcissa made mention of Belladonna, then Draco was to turn his back on her and she would be left to fend for herself.

Hermione was outraged when she read the last and gave a start when Draco handed her a cup of tea. She hadn't heard him return and she almost sent the cup and saucer flying.

"I see you've read his will," Draco said dryly and he took a sip from his cup.

"I can't believe it," Hermione said shaking her head, her gaze kept returning to the last line.

"My father was quite mercenary when he wanted to be, particularly when it involved my mother and her behaviour. And if Belladonna is my sister and a squib father would have done everything in his power to make sure that it remained a secret. After all, we are talking about the Malfoy name." Hermione hadn't heard Draco sound so bitter since they had been teenagers and the sneer on his face made him look 16 all over again.

"I'm surprised that your father mentioned her by name, being that it was something he wanted to hide he has made it a little obvious and because it is so out of place, it has made it something you would want to investigate, regardless of who you are." Hermione was baffled by the fact that this was quite out of character for Lucius, anyone who had met him even once knew of his secretive nature.

"You're right, but it wasn't something that was obvious. I don't believe that my father had any intention of me ever seeing his Will. However, after his death the Will was given to my mother and instead of burning it as I'm sure were his instructions, she left the Will here where she knew I would have eventually found it. Even though there aren't any obvious signs, I believe my mother deliberately left that here so that I would find Belladonna. My father had probably assumed that if I did see his Will and realised that I had a squib for a sister then I would take the necessary steps to see that she was never found. My father wrongly believed that I would be just like him."

Hermione didn't know what to say in reply, she didn't want to make things worse by saying the wrong thing so they both lapsed into an awkward silence as they finished their tea.

"There are more papers there," Draco motioned to the other pile of parchment on the desk, carrying on as if his last had not been said.

"This looks like a birth record," Hermione said pulling out a sheaf of papers.

"Yes," Draco said leaning over the desk to confirm what she was reading. "That is how I knew that Belladonna was my sister." There were deep frown lines on Draco's brow and Hermione had to restrain herself from reaching over and smoothing them out. She hadn't had an urge to do that to someone before and she was more than a little disturbed that she cared enough about Draco to do so. Pushing aside the feeling she concentrated on the papers before her and began to read.

"Belladonna Malfoy, born November 22nd 1983, 6:15pm to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy," Hermione thought over that and started to work back. "That would make her 25 now, you would have been 2 almost 3 when she was born. You don't remember your mother being pregnant?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I have no recollection of her being pregnant. Though she could have been and I would never have noticed. As a child I spent most of my time with nannies and later tutors before I was sent to Hogwarts so it isn't a surprise that I don't remember."

Hermione thought that it was a little sad that he had lived in the same house as his parents and yet hadn't really lived 'with' them. Her parents had been dentists with a successful practice and yet they had always made sure to spend time with her, their only child.

"You weren't close with your parents?" Hermione asked as delicately as she could.

"We were close, in that I was their only child and they made sure that I was educated properly, both in school matters and in etiquette and they did spend time with me when I was grown up though I imagine what I consider spending time with my parents was quite different from your experience as a child," Draco paused, thinking. "My parents loved me and that is something that I never doubted, even though my father wasn't an affectionate man. My mother was more affectionate, especially as I got older."

"Perhaps the giving up of one of her children made her realise how special you were to her," Hermione said quietly. Draco nodded his head in concession but she could tell he was uncomfortable with that line of conversation and Hermione redirected her attention to the documents so that they could get back on track.

Hermione worked diligently looking through all the papers in Lucius' office. But by the time she had read through the last stack of parchment she felt more than a little frustrated. Other than the birth registration she had found no other information relating to what happened to Belladonna after she had been born. No clue as to where she had been sent, who had adopted her, it was as if she had been born and then vanished.

"Draco," Hermione said some time later. "There isn't any mention of Belladonna after her birth," Draco nodded frowning at her. Instinctively knowing what she was going to say next he wasn't going to want to hear. "I think that we have to consider the possibility that your sister did not survive long after her birth." Hermione held her breath unconsciously, waiting to hear Draco's reply.

"I did think of that," Draco conceded and he stood from the chair he had been seated in. "Come with me, there is something I want to show you," Draco led the way out of the office and down a hall to the right.

Draco led Hermione into a room that was large and covered in a magnificent tapestry, and at the top in the centre of the room was the Malfoy crest. Spread out in great branches was the Malfoy Family Tree.

"Each birth and death is automatically recorded on this tapestry," Draco said moving across the room. "This is me," Draco pointed to his name and Hermione noticed a small smudge next to it.

"What is that?" Hermione asked pointing to the smudge.

"That would have been my sister, had she been born and died, her death would have been recorded as all others, my parents took great care to remove her from the tree entirely and that alone tells me that she was born, survived and is more than likely a squib. That is the only reason my parents would have gone to such lengths to have her name removed. Had she died soon after her birth it wouldn't have mattered no one would have been any wiser about her squib status and thus the Malfoy name would remain as it always has." Draco's face was a mask, that Hermione was becoming to realise he settled into when he was feeling great emotions. "And it would explain why my mother was so subtle in bringing it to my attention, she wouldn't have wanted someone to find out by accident, only I would have gone through the papers in fathers study and only I would have cared enough to look for her."

Hermione looked at Draco and found that she admired him; something that she hadn't thought would have been possible. And it was a feeling that left her feeling vaguely uncomfortable and she couldn't really pinpoint why.


End file.
